Hi,

I'm running the Cthulu scenario and I have some questions about combat.

So, firstly, I understand how to run a combat but I'm not happy with how it works and want to house-rule it. I'm looking for advice. Here is my problem:

The people I'm running the game for have extensive training in a variety of weapons, martial arts and firearms.

Now, one of their group has none of the aforementioned skills. He's just a guy who works in an office. With a new game and the point-buy system, everyone is on a fairly even playing field - with the exception of Features, which the trained fighters will use to enjoy extra positive dice.

But, if you take player UNTRAINED and pit him against player TRAINED in combat, there is almost no difference in the ability to hit. There may be a 1 point difference in stats and, an extra positive dice but, with a lucky hit, the UNTRAINED character is almost as likely to hit.

Example:
Trained: skill 3
+1 dice base; + 2 dice (sword) +1 dice (positive feature: Trained swordsman) total dice: 4 positive
Untrained: skill 2

+1 dice (base); +2 dice (swords) -1 dice (negative feature: Sedentary job): total dice: 3 positive; 1 negative

There is no dodge rules incorporated into the game. A trained, highly skilled martial artist/military trained individual should have a huge advantage over an completely untrained person.

I thought about doing all combat as opposed tests, where successes from dodges cancel successes from attacks but, I think that would draw combats out unnecessarily.

The solution I'm toying with is this:

- The attacker gets +/- dice based on the difference between the defenders stat.

Example 1: attacker has a 3; defender has a 2 - Therefore, attacker gets to add 1 positive die to his attack (5 postitive)

Example 2: attacker has a 2; defender has a 3 - Therefore, attacker must add 1 negative die to his attack (3 positive; 2 negative)

Thoughts?

My concern is survivability when fighting some of the bigger beasties in the book and general game balance.

I'm curious about a couple of things here.

1) What kinds of skills does the "office worker" actually have? And, is there some way in which those skills can be incorporated into the game? Maybe said office worker is the guy who refills the office medicine box, so he has some basic knowledge of medicine and first aid. Maybe he's a scrounger who is good at finding the things that the group needs.

2) Is the game geared to pit the players against each other, or did I just read that wrong?

I'm curious about a couple of things here.

1) What kinds of skills does the "office worker" actually have? And, is there some way in which those skills can be incorporated into the game? Maybe said office worker is the guy who refills the office medicine box, so he has some basic knowledge of medicine and first aid. Maybe he's a scrounger who is good at finding the things that the group needs.

2) Is the game geared to pit the players against each other, or did I just read that wrong?

1) the office worker will have other talents and abilities that he can lend the group....but this is not the issue I'm concerned with...I guess I used a bad example.

2) I'm more concerned that the Highly Trained Combatants' skills are kind of irrelevant and the players will get frustrated. It's not that I mean to pin PCs against each other, it's more that trained PC's are no better at avoiding attacks than untrained.

A Deep One attacks at a fixed amount of positive dice regardless of who they are attacking. The skill of their target doesn't play into how well they will hit. If they roll 3 positive dice against a Trained swordsman, they'll also be rolling 3 positive against the Office Worker. In my eyes, the trained swordsman should have a better chance at deflecting a blow or dodging.

With my house-rule, the Deep One might get an extra positive dice against the office worker but no extra dice against the Swordsman...or, even, a negative dice against a swordsman.

Does that clarify?

2) I'm more concerned that the Highly Trained Combatants' skills are kind of irrelevant and the players will get frustrated. It's not that I mean to pin PCs against each other, it's more that trained PC's are no better at avoiding attacks than untrained.

A Deep One attacks at a fixed amount of positive dice regardless of who they are attacking. The skill of their target doesn't play into how well they will hit. If they roll 3 positive dice against a Trained swordsman, they'll also be rolling 3 positive against the Office Worker. In my eyes, the trained swordsman should have a better chance at deflecting a blow or dodging.

With my house-rule, the Deep One might get an extra positive dice against the office worker but no extra dice against the Swordsman...or, even, a negative dice against a swordsman.

Does that clarify?

Actually, it does.

Ignoring the office worker bit, as the GM of the game, you do have the ability to adjust how characters and monsters roll dice. For instance, it is within your power to look at the players' skills and determine if those skills would work as a detriment to their attackers.

For example.

Let's say a Deep One is going up against one of your players who is a trained swordsman. Said Deep One would be rolling 3 positive dice (I don't know offhand what the correct number is). But, you can logically assume that a trained swordsman would be able to potentially parry and attack and add in a negative die to the deep one's pool (I'm guessing one negative since I'm assuming that parrying a sword is a lot different than parrying a webbed and clawed hand).

If your players survive the attack, you can even go further by adding in more negative dice to future combat situations, representing the players learning from their previous battles.

Actually, it does.

Ignoring the office worker bit, as the GM of the game, you do have the ability to adjust how characters and monsters roll dice. For instance, it is within your power to look at the players' skills and determine if those skills would work as a detriment to their attackers.

For example.

Let's say a Deep One is going up against one of your players who is a trained swordsman. Said Deep One would be rolling 3 positive dice (I don't know offhand what the correct number is). But, you can logically assume that a trained swordsman would be able to potentially parry and attack and add in a negative die to the deep one's pool (I'm guessing one negative since I'm assuming that parrying a sword is a lot different than parrying a webbed and clawed hand).

If your players survive the attack, you can even go further by adding in more negative dice to future combat situations, representing the players learning from their previous battles.

I like the freedom of being able to add dice based on the story, situation, to add suspense etc...

But I'm a bit worried about being too hand-wavey about it when it comes to this. I wouldn't want players feeling they're being treated unfairly because I'm constantly giving some of them extra dice all the time but not others. Which is kind of why I wanted to standardize something. It would cross over with all stats: social and mental. It's just that, I think, physical tends to get most of the full-blown conflicts. Although, I plan to do social conflicts. So, other players who've invested in mental or social stats would get the same privilege...but less frequently.

The fact that adding both positive/negative dice is kind of arbitrary, does standardizing some of it break the game? I'd have to go through creature stats...I'm a bit worried about Monsters decimating my players.

On 3/31/2016 at 1:50 AM, Lecram said:

I like the freedom of being able to add dice based on the story, situation, to add suspense etc...

But I'm a bit worried about being too hand-wavey about it Bluestacks Lucky Patcher Kodi when it comes to this. I wouldn't want players feeling they're being treated unfairly because I'm constantly giving some of them extra dice all the time but not others. Which is kind of why I wanted to standardize something. It would cross over with all stats: social and mental. It's just that, I think, physical tends to get most of the full-blown conflicts. Although, I plan to do social conflicts. So, other players who've invested in mental or social stats would get the same privilege...but less frequently.

The fact that adding both positive/negative dice is kind of arbitrary, does standardizing some of it break the game? I'd have to go through creature stats...I'm a bit worried about Monsters decimating my players.

Now, one of their group has none of the aforementioned skills. He's just a guy who works in an office. With a new game and the point-buy system, everyone is on a fairly even playing field - with the exception of Features, which the trained fighters will use to enjoy extra positive dice.